Dude - well I agree, but good look with critical thinking skills, reasoning, and writing in college.
I just read Jeff Selingo's book, College (Un)bound and then Academically Adrift which he based his book on. Well, both give startling statistics on the lack of critical thinking skills, reasoning, and writing in college. Few seem to read today in college. Both studies say 70% of students reported that social learning was more important than academics.
Reading has been on the decline for years (not to paint an even bleaker picture). But it's only getting worse, I feel, with Common Core, testing, and other factors (e.g. time). Readership in libraries is down in general and has been for years. On the other hand, the numbers for movies and audiovisuals are up with libraries (in general) and many librarians grumble that they feel like the library has become a NetFlix.
Textbooks are often written well below level. Many high school textbooks are written at a 5th grade level or so. Many college textbooks are not written at a college level. The expectations are low across the board.
Publishers have contributed to the reading problem. Good literature seems hard to find, especially in YA section. I also think, though, Harry Potter didn't help either. There's a push to move children quickly away from picture books to chapter books so kids will eventually be able to handle long tomes like Harry Potter. However, this does many kids a disservice and puts many off reading entirely.
School does not have the monopoly on reading (or learning) as Kio Stark's book, Don't Go to School, recently reminded me. Reading take a a degree of self-motivation as well as time, effort, and patience. School can help you master reading or gain valuable reading skills, but it doesn't have sole license on it.
